1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for a camera cursor system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling a cursor on a mobile wireless computer device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile terminals are developed to provide wireless communication between users. As technology has advanced, mobile terminals now provide many additional features beyond simple telephone conversation. For example, mobile terminals are now able to provide additional functions such as an alarm, a Short Messaging Service (SMS), a Multimedia Message Service (MMS), E-mail, games, remote control of short range communication, an image capturing function using a mounted digital camera, a multimedia function for providing audio and video content, a scheduling function, and many more. With the plurality of features now provided, a mobile terminal has effectively become a necessity of daily life.
Mobile terminals as described above may be implemented, for example, as tablets, smartphones, or other mobile wireless computers. They are frequently implemented with a touchscreen feature, that is, a screen that functions both as a visual display and as a touch-sensitive input. Typically, the elements displayed on the touchscreen may be selected, adjusted, opened, dragged to a new location, etc., by touching or tapping an icon or other input, in order to control a corresponding function of the mobile terminal or of an application installed on the mobile terminal. For example, a user may tap on a speaker icon to open an audio volume control function; the audio volume control function may display a slider or scrollbar, which the user may tap to select (“grab” the control), move the finger on the touchscreen (“drag”) to set a new audio volume setting; and then the user may lift the finger from the touchscreen to allow the volume control function to close.
Use of a touchscreen interface as described above has the advantage of being intuitively easy to understand. However, it has several drawbacks as well. For example, the display, particularly the element of the display the user is most interested in, is obscured by the user's finger and not visible during the touch input. For another example, the user must move his finger to whatever location on the screen is appropriate; this may be difficult or impossible for a user who does not have one hand free to hold the mobile terminal while using the other hand for the touch input. Such a user may be driving a car, simultaneously using a mobile phone in a situation where there is no convenient or safe surface to set the mobile terminal on, may not have full use of all fingers and both hands due to an accident or injury, etc.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable terminal according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a portable terminal 100 includes a touchscreen interface 110, an optional front-facing camera 120, and an optional one or more keys 130. The camera 120 is used to take pictures of the user or for video conferencing. The touchscreen interface 110 is used both to display output and to sense user inputs. For example, a user may tap and drag an icon to move a displayed object representing an application, double tap the icon to launch the application, use a two-fingered ‘pinch’ or ‘spread’ input to change a scale of the display, tap or type on keys of a displayed keyboard, etc. The keys 130 may be used to turn the portable terminal 100 on or off, to awaken the portable terminal 100 if it is in a sleep mode, to adjust a sound volume, etc. If the portable terminal 100 includes audio functions such as a telephone, there may be a speaker output 140 and a microphone input 150 as well.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of a portable terminal according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 2, portable terminal 100 includes a rear-facing camera 210 and an optional flash 220. The rear-facing camera 210 is used for taking higher resolution photographs or video than are taken by the front-facing camera 120. The flash 220 is used when the portable terminal 100 detects a low light situation when taking a photograph.
The portable terminal 100 of the related art has a user interface requiring particular user inputs, i.e., touching or tapping at the location on an icon, to use. A user will typically need to hold the portable terminal 100 with one hand and tap or touch the touchscreen input with a finger of the other hand, or set the portable terminal 100 down on a surface such as a table top, in order to enter the required inputs.
There are attempts in the related art to use computer vision techniques to track a moving object, such as the Microsoft Kinect video game accessory. However, such techniques of the related art require a stable light environment, and cannot function in a variable light mobile environment.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for providing improved user input functionality to handheld devices such as portable terminals.